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Peri-peri Chicken
Sticky Lamb Ribs is a modern South African recipe for a classic dish of chicken thighs in a spicy African bird pepper (piri-piri) that's oven baked and served with dirty rice. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic South African version of: Peri-peri Chicken.
prep time
20 minutes
cook time
25 minutes
Total Time:
45 minutes
Serves:
4
Rating: 
Tags : Chilli RecipesSpice RecipesChicken RecipesSouth-africa Recipes
Ultimately, peri-peri chicken is a Portuguese dish and it was they who introduced chillies from the old world to the new world. Today, peri-peri or piri-piri also the common name of the African birds' eye chilli. So, in this recipe I've combined the Portuguese dish with the African chilli, making the dish with chicken thighs rather than a whole chicken and serving on a bed of dirty rice for a whole meal. The version presented here is South African, derived from Mozambique that's served with dirty rice.
Ingredients:
8 skinless and boneless chicken thigh fillets
75ml (5 tbsp) medium–hot peri peri sauce (or you can use really hot if your prefer)
½ tsp hot smoked paprika
sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to serve
For the dirty rice:
1 tsp olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, halved, cored, seeds removed and finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, halved, cored, seeds removed and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
generous pinch of saffron strands
200ml (4/5 cup) chicken stock
1 chicken stock cube, crumbled
500g (1 lb) cooked brown rice (freshly cooked and drained or 2 pouches)
2 tbsp pickled piri-piri chillies, to garnish (optional)
Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 240C (220°C Fan/430F/Gas Mark 9). Line a baking tray with an ovenproof silicone mat or baking paper.
Slash the chicken thighs with a sharp knife and put in a bowl. Add 3 tbsp of the peri-peri sauce, the smoked paprika and a little sea salt and black pepper. Turn the chicken to coat thoroughly in the sauce then lay on the baking tray, transfer to your pre-heated oven and cook for 20–25 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the dirty rice. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan or wok over a high heat. Add the onion and cook for 4–5 minutes until starting to brown. Add the bell peppers and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Now add the paprika and cumin and cook for 1 minute. Grind the saffron in a mortar and add to the pan with the stock and stock cube. Simmer for 2–3 minutes, stirring, until the stock cube has dissolved. Add the rice and allow to warm through for 5 minutes.
Remove the chicken from the oven, tip the juices from the tray into the rice and stir through. Cook the rice for a further 2 minutes. Wave a cook’s blowtorch over the surface of the chicken thighs to lightly char, then brush with the remaining peri-peri sauce.
Serve the chicken on a bed of the rice.
